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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

you seem to be the person with just the amount of spunk to spearhead this event, (I just come up with the idea's and then run remember! )

So, with the power never bestowed upon me, I officially put you in charge of organizing this event! . You see, with you in charge, we may be even able to convince a few of the fence-sitters to attend and possibly perform.

If it ends up being in SF, I would be happy to be a tourguide (if not in person, I could at least be a 'virtual' tourguide, via this Forum).

I can offer suggestions for airport transportation, local transportation, sightseeing (including excursions further afield - such as the wine country), shopping suggestions, location of piano stores etc.

I think it would be fun to see some of the folks in this Forum.

FYI: winter weather in SF tends to be a lot warmer than the rest of the country and summer weather tends to be a lot cooler than the rest of the country. (maybe too[/b] cool but that is another story)

If we do muster enough interest to have an actual *real* live concert recital, sooner or later an actual location will have to be chosen.

We are still in the exploratory stage now however more and more interest seems to be building up.

I had also noticed that a few active members from the other PW forums have been chiming in and I think that is terrific. Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe we should have an "all-inclusive" PW live recital?.

While that would be really cool, it does bring up the performance intimidation factor but I'm sure there may be ways to have everyone perform who wants to while possibly keeping certain groupings of abilities together.

It now seems that the top 3 locations are Mass, Vegas, or san Fransico.

For those who are traveling, the airfare and hotel really should not be that much of a difference in any of the locations. I can only assume that Vegas would be the least expensive since there are deals all the time there but like I said, if someone lives say in the midwest, the airfare and hotel will be about the same either way.

So, a few questions for everyone:

1.).Should we open the live concert recital to everyone (Any/all Pianoworld members) or limit it to an adult beginer live recital?

2.) To be fair to the bulk majority of our members living in the U.S, what can we do to include our other members across the globe?. Possibly donate unused frequesnt flyer miles?, offer to host a member a place to stay when they get here?.

3.) If we do this and it turns out succsessful (like the online recitals), could we possibly have an annual live recital that changes locations every year?. Maybe this year it will be in San Fran, next year, Mass, the following year, Vegas, and who knows, possibly even europe in the future.

This concept has a HUGE amount of potential but only if we all do something to organize it. Why not have some fun with this idea and actually DO IT??. You only live once!

Regarding whether the live recital should be open to all members, I don't see why not. If there are enough performers, it's possible to do 2 sessions - afternoon recital for the beginners/retreaders, followed by happy hour and dinner, (now we're talking), and then the evening session for the "serious" amateur pianists - the happy hour might bring down their level of performance! haha! It would be up to each performer to decide which group he/she wants to sign up for, I guess.

Or the order of the recital could be arranged according to the grade level of the pieces. If a piece doesn't have an official grade designation then an experienced teacher (looking at you Betty) could look it over and make an educated guess. That would at least keep Twinkle, Twinkle, and 25/11 separate. That would also let the less experienced performers go first with less time for nerves to built up.

If I could make it I'd probably go to either coast, but would still prefer Vegas.

As for splitting the recital into levels - I like the ABF as a "self-defined" group - it's part of what makes it so special, IMHO, so I'd rather we didn't split the folks any way. I'd just as soon we did something like draw straws for an order of playing , so we have kind of a random order, like we do for the quarterly recitals/piano bar/holiday recital. Besides, who's to say if we want to try a "harder" - whatever that means - piece and mess it up, or an "easier" - whatever that means - piece and nail it? And how would we define what that means for the play-by-ear folks?

I still really like the simultaneous Euro-US idea, and I still don't have any idea how that would work.

Cathy

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CathyPractice like you are the worst; play like you are the best - anonymous

In addition to a recital, what would really hook me and make it worth my while would be to have some break out sessions with the more advanced members, and possibly a guest speaker or two. I would be willing to pay a small cover charge for the experience, if I knew I was going to come away having had time to listen to those who really know their stuff. The cover charge could then be used to help cover expenses with the venue, etc. Does not have to be much, just enough to allow us to really do the event right.

I would also say that IMHO, I think it is in all of our best interest to get as many pianists, at as high a skill level as possible to attend. Intimidation factor aside, what a great opportunity to sit down with a room full of people who are better than us, and ask for as much advice as we can in a couple of days.

It could also be fun to do a little competition, for those who are brave enough.

As far as organization goes, i will throw down that I am willing to help from a website point of view. I own a small company with on staff web programmers. www.KidsKnowIt.com

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary numbers, and those who don't.

I was thinking of a peer group of ABFers. For me, if I wanted to sit down with a roomful of people better than me I'd probably choose a piano camp or something But your idea is certainly worth running up the flagpole -

Some late night thoughts on venue -

I've been to a lot of dance camps, and perhaps they could serve as another kind of model. One of the best venues was Colorado College in Colorado Springs - the accomodations were dorm rooms, but that made it inexpensive, and we were all in one place. We've also been at NM Tech in Socorro, or Fort Lewis in Durango.

Another place was a historic hotel in, I believe, Sedona, AZ. I was also at a ragtime festival in Boulder, CO, at which the main venue was a church, and there were "afterglows" at a couple of the hotels.

So, how about a small college or comandeering a historic hotel somewhere, like Sedona or similar in *your* state, with a church as the "recital" venue if needed? They often have small auditoriums with grand pianos, or we could rent one or two (I've done that for concerts, too).

I was also thinking about what kind of venues are here in SF (not that I think Santa Fe is a good choice - it can be pricey), but there's a couple of small theaters that I've been in dance performances in - one at the College of SF and one at the NM School for the Deaf in particular. They're not expensive to rent, but they both require audience insurance. I wouldn't be surprised if some churches did, too. But - what might be in Las Vegas outside the strip that we might take advantage of? If there was something there we could still take advantage of the multiple and cheap flights into there. Guess I'll ask my brother next week when we're all home for the holidays -

Any way, when Mr. S-H mentioned the actual venue it set me thinking. . .

Cathy

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CathyPractice like you are the worst; play like you are the best - anonymous

Just me dreaming a little.....Going to San Fransisco would be like a dream come true for me, so that would be perfect. But it's a long (and expensive) way and it will need some saving and planning.

(I'm sure you would be a perfect guide, Whippen boy, but you did not mention organ concert ? )

Most of all I want to meet you all, see your faces and chat a bit (just to reveal my awful Norwegian accent, I mean)A live concert would make me totally shaky and I would have to choose a grade 1 piece since I don't know the difference between C and F when I'm nervous.....

I'm with Terry on Lowell,being partial and only 30 minutes away. Larry has a friend with a portable recording studio so there's a possibility of getting a live recording of the recitals. Imagine a personal CD titled "Live from Pianoworld 2008 Ultimate ABF Meeting"

Whippen Boy, you don't want to visit Methuen Music Hall and try the organ there? That would make a nice addition to our grand meeting up here in good ol' New England!

The Frederick Collection is worth the visit. I've been there like 3 times now, and can't get enough of the experiences. They've added a couple of new pianos too. An 1888 Mason & Hamlin, and an 1868 Chickering.All of the pianos are playable so after the tour, you get to sample them yourself. Imagine a Chopin Nocturne on the 1841 Pleyel, or Schubert on the 1828 Conrad Graff. (heaven). :3hearts:

We DO have time to thoroughly organize and explore our options for this event so there is no need to rush.

I REALLY like John Citrons idea of having the event proffessionally recorded as a keepsake for all of us. After reading all of the suggestions so far, it seems that certain criteria should be met. Those being:

.The event to be held in an acoustically compatible location..(some type of music hall designed for the reproduction/transmission of sound)...i.e NOT pizza-hut banquet room!.

.The event to be held in a location that satifies the majority of attending members. (other means of compensating out of country members have been mentioned such as donating unused frequent flyer miles or possibly hosting a foreign member).

.The timing of this event would obviously have to be far enough away to not cause any scheduling conflicts. Late summer 08 has been mentioned several times.

As far as who should participate be it beginers only or everyone, the floor is open to express your viewpoints on that issue.

Personally, I would like have my cake and eat it to on this one!. Ideally, I would LOVE to have the chance to watch some very accomplished forum members perform as well as fellow adult beginers.

I strongly feel some form of a distinction should be made between them as to not cause any feelings of intimidation. Possibly beginers in the morning and advanced performers in the afternoon?. I'm sure this could be worked out as the advanced players would only want to encourage the rest of us as opposed to intimidate us.

As beginers, we DO have a lot to learn from the more advanced performers and I would certainly welcome the opportunity to hear them perform. That said, I still would feel more comfortable performing in a grouped time frame with members of my own similar abilities!.

Originally posted by mr_super-hunky:...Personally, I would like have my cake and eat it to on this one!. Ideally, I would LOVE to have the chance to watch some very accomplished forum members perform as well as fellow adult beginers. [/b]

I agree with most of what you say but especially this; we all could benefit a lot from exposure to advanced members.

I would add a wish: that the encounter last long enough to get to meet everybody. Whichever location is chosen, I know I will travel far; I certainly would like the opportunity to spend some time out of recital with all of you. I know some will have time issues but what if it was held over two days, say a weekend ?

The other day could be spent on a visit of some piano related exposition or other place of interest.

I think everyone is assuming at least a weekend, probably a long one to allow for travel time. I would prefer a format where we can spend some casual piano time together in additional to a formal recital. We really need to chose a locale where we have an actual host(ess) with a house and a piano regardless of what arrangements we have for the formal recital (about which I have very mixed feelings.)